Moon pushes anti-abortion bill opponents call "extreme"

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Rep. Mike Moon, R-Ash Grove, is pushing for a change to the state's constitution that would give unborn children "the right to life."

Opponents say Moon's measure instead is aimed at making abortion illegal in Missouri. They say the proposal would the muddy the legal waters in such a way that it could block the use of some common contraceptives.

A House panel on Tuesday heard testimony on the joint resolution. If passed by the General Assembly — joint resolutions don't require the governor's signature — the resolution would be put on the November general election ballot.

The hearing lasted about 90 minutes and included testimony from both supporters and opponents. Supporters outnumbered opponents inside the hearing room.

Asked what the effect the resolution would have if passed, Moon said it would be minimal, at least to begin with. He said by itself the measure would not ban abortion in Missouri but could law the groundwork for future laws or litigation that would do so.

"It's essentially to put in the (Missouri) Constitution that all life is protected," Moon said. "It is a constitutional framework for any other laws that can come after it."

Opponents who testified said similar resolutions proposed in other states have failed, either because they were blocked in the legislature, were rejected by voters at the ballot box or because they were challenged deemed unconstitutional by state courts.

Moon's measure, too, is unconstitutional, said Sarah Rossi, director of advocacy and policy for the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri.

"At every stage of the process, at some point (such laws are) either considered by the state legislature or the voters or the courts as unconstitutional and in direct conflict with the U.S. Constitution and (U.S.) Supreme Court precedent," Rossi said in testimony Tuesday.

Michigan attorney and pro-life advocate Rebecca Kiessling testified with Moon at the hearing. Kiessling told the panel she was born as a result of her mother's rape and that if it had not been for laws then outlawing abortion, she likely would not have been born.

Kiessling is a national advocate for so-called "personhood amendments," like Moon's legislation, that seek to define life as beginning at conception and to outlaw abortion — or set the groundwork for legal challenges to abortion rights.

Pamela Merritt, a member of the St. Louis Reproductive Justice Table, a pro-choice advocacy group, said it is unclear what would happen to women's reproductive rights in Missouri if Moon's measure does pass. But the "implications are clear" that it could make it harder for women to access abortions and some forms of birth control, she told the News-Leader after the hearing.

Merritt also said if the constitutional change is made it could lead to "confusion and denial of rights while (a legal challenge to the law) makes its way through the courts."

The panel that heard testimony on Moon's bill, the House Committee on Children and Families, did not take action, which is customary. Committees in the legislature often wait until their next meeting to take action on bills that were just heard.